


Quiescent

by Baked_Apple_Pie



Series: One-Word Writing Prompts [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dean punches a guy, Fluff, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester, human!Cas, quiet Castiel, well some angst at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28784259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baked_Apple_Pie/pseuds/Baked_Apple_Pie
Summary: Quiescent: A quiet and/or soft spoken soul.“Cas?” He asks softly, trying to calm the ex-angel down from a clearly impending panic attack. “Is… everything okay?” He pointedly meets eyes with the fucker that still has his hand on Cas’s shoulder. Castiel swallows roughly, looking down and half-heartedly trying to shrug the man's firm hand off of him.The man's grip just tightens, and he grins at Dean. “He’s just fine, actually, we’re just gonna get goin’, right gorgeous?”
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: One-Word Writing Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110359
Comments: 2
Kudos: 97





	Quiescent

**Author's Note:**

> This went slightly off topic, oops

_ Quiescent: A quiet, soft-spoken soul _

  
Dean Winchester has seen all sorts of things. Things that would either get most people confined to a mental hospital or six feet under. 

But  _ never  _ in a million years would he have thought that Castiel, ex-angel and soldier of the Lord, would be such a shy and quiet human being.

Although the seraph wasn’t exactly Mister Talkative at his full glory, at least Cas still stood up to Sam and Dean, stated what he thought was right and what they should do in certain situations.

Now, though? As a human Castiel is quiet, soft-spoken, barely talking except to tell either Winchester something about a case, otherwise hiding in his rather impersonal room in the Bunker.

It’s starting to make Dean worry. Sam keeps telling him that it’s natural, and not to worry about it because the angel will figure himself out in due time, but Dean can’t help but worry about his quiet best friend.

But he doesn’t do anything, not yet at least. He doesn’t want to come off as awkward or weird or something.

That’s all thrown out the window when it’s just him and the angel working a case in a small town down in Arkansas, right outside of a disgusting looking 7/11.

They had gotten the case proposal from Sam, who had been looking around online and made them go and check it out, seeing as the youngest Winchester himself had broken his foot only a week ago and the idiot was convinced that it  _ was _ a case, and it’s definitely not possible for any other hunter to take care of.

Then again, maybe Sam’s just sick of dealing with a silent ex-angel and grumpy older brother.

Anyways, they’re outside a crappy old 7/11 in bumfuck, nowhere Arkansas when it happens.

Cas is coming out of the store part of the building, clutching a plastic bag tightly in one hand and walking quickly towards where Dean is leaning against the side of the Impala, tapping his fingers on the roof of the car as he waits.

There’s nothing odd about this, he had sent the angel to the gas station to grab some snacks for the road trip ahead, but what is odd is the man that follows him out of the small store, the man that Cas keeps glancing nervously over his shoulder at. 

Dean feels his knee start to hurt, something it only does when he feels like they’re truly fucked and something bad is about to happen g. He straightens to his full height and moves forward a few paces, hand drifting down to where his holster is attached to his hip, watching the man following Cas warily.

He looked pretty normal, with close-shaven brown hair and with a medium build, nothing of which putting Dean on edge. The thing that made him reach for his colt was the way that the man is watching Castiel, following closely behind the ex-angel and watching him with something - greed? - in his eyes, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

“Cas!” Dean calls over to him, walking even closer to meet Castiel halfway, taking the bag from him and frowning slightly at the obvious fear in the seraphs vibrant blue eyes. “You get everything?”

“Yes,” Cas says, so quiet that Dean has to strain his ears slightly to hear it. “I—” 

“Ready to go, honey?” The man behind Cas rests his hand heavily on the seraph's shoulder, meeting eyes with Dean levelly and smirking softly. Dean feels a streak of white-hot rage shoot through him and he glares at the slightly shorter man, the only thing stopping him from breaking his neck being Castiel's terrified wide blue eyes, hands trembling slightly at his sides.

“Cas?” He asks softly, trying to calm the ex-angel down from a clearly impending panic attack. “Is… everything okay?” He pointedly meets eyes with the fucker that still has his hand on Cas’s shoulder. Castiel swallows roughly, looking down and half-heartedly trying to shrug the man's firm hand from his shoulder.

The man's grip just tightens, and he grins at Dean. “He’s just fine, actually, we’re just gonna get goin’, right gorgeous?” Dean raises his eyebrows at him, hands tightening into fists.

“I was talking to Castiel, actually.” Cas lets out a soft whimper, biting his lip and wrapping an arm around himself in a weak gesture of self-comfort.

“I—”

“Cassie,” The man murmurs, and Dean represses the urge to growl. “Is this man botherin’ you? I can protect you, baby, if you want—”

And that’s it, Dean snaps. He lunges forward, swinging his fist into the bastard's face with a sickening  _ crack. _ The man stumbles back with a sharp yelp, hands flying to stem the blood that streams from his nose. 

Dean advances forward, only to be stilled by Cas’s frantic hands on his chest, the ex-angels breathing frantic and quick, close to hyperventilating. “Stop it! Stop it, please!” He cries and Dean immediately stops, turning to meet Cas’s eyes.

“Cas, what’s going on?” He asks, flinching slightly at his harsh tone as Castiel steps back a couple of steps. 

“You sonofabitch!” The muffled and yet outraged cry comes from behind them, where the man is sitting in the gravel, hands still over his nose. “What the fuck is your problem?!” Dean doesn’t bother answering and ignores him, staring more intently into Cas’s tear brimmed eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asks, schooling his tone into something softer. Cas shrugs, wrapping his arms around himself and looking down.

“Can… can we go somewhere else, please?” He asks quietly and Dean doesn’t hesitate to nod, holding out a hand in an offer to help Cas. The seraph tentatively grabs his fingers, clutching onto them tightly as he allows the human to lead him back over to the Impala, helping the ex-angel into the passenger seat before sliding into the driver's seat himself, turning on the engine, and driving down the road for some while, until there are at least four miles between them and the man whose nose Dean had broken.

“Cas?” Dean prompts softly after a moment, turning so his full body faces the seraph curled into Baby’s seat. “Is everything okay? Did you know that… guy?” Castiel lets out a small sniffle and shakes his head, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

“I… no. He came up to me in the store, said he was going to… take me home? I… I don’t know what that means, Dean.” Dean swallows another surge of anger and instead bites his lip, thinking of what to say.

“Cas, can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Castiel looks at him curiously and nods, raising his head slightly. “Okay, uh, why have you been so… quiet? Drawn back? I-I mean, it’s totally understandable, I would be to, it’s just that Sam and I have been kind of worried and—”

“Dean,” Cas interrupts again, gently. “It is okay. I am quiet because I am trying to figure out what is going on, I suppose. It is hard to follow what is happening, most of the time.” Dean frowns, confused.

“Was time and stuff different as an angel?” He asks and Cas shakes his head before pausing for a moment, then nodding hesitantly.

“Sort of. As an angel colors, for one thing, were odd. They were… inverted, I suppose. Everything looks different now.” He pauses for a second, gathering his thoughts. “For another thing, I no longer see humans as just… souls. You all have unique looks, like your souls, but they do not shine as brightly and as such, your faces just sort of… blend together, sometimes. When I get… quiet it is because I am trying to figure out what is happening—”

“Which is all of the time.”

“Most of the time, yes. I am in my bedroom when it is getting especially hard for me to concentrate, and I’m just trying to understand what is happening. When that man came up to me I briefly thought he was you, actually, because faces blend together so much.”

“So then how did you know it wasn’t me?” Cas flushes a light pink but smiles softly.

“I doubt I could forget your face if I tried, Dean. But as soon as I turned around it was your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

“Yes.” Cas smiles at him, fondness clear in his gaze. “You have very beautiful green eyes, Dean.” Dean flushes scarlet at that, dropping his gaze for half a second before looking back up to Castiel.

“Okay… is it always like that?” Cas furrows an eyebrow. 

“Always like what?”

“Like…” Dean gestures vaguely, trying to explain his thoughts. “Is the world always like you explained, hellish?” Cas frowns, looking down at his hands. 

“No… it gets easier sometimes, especially when I’m with you. You are familiar.”

“Oh.”

“Yes.”

They both look down again before Dean clears his throat awkwardly.

“Is there… uh… anything I can do to help?” Cas hesitates, blushing again before murmuring something under his breath too fast and quiet for Dean to hear. He frowns. “Sorry, could you repeat that, please?” Cas blushes again but nods.

“Could you… could you, uh, hug… me? I-I understand if that is odd, I just want to see if—

Dean cuts him off by pulling him into his chest - albeit awkwardly from their position - but Cas lets out a sharp gasp before slumping against him, hands tightening on his jacket. “Like this?” Dean asks and Cas lets out a shaky sigh, burrowing his face into Dean’s neck.

“This… this feels familiar.”

“Oh?” Dean asks, pulling Cas closer and almost into his lap. “How so?”

“Warm.” Cas hums, eyes drifting shut. “Safe. You make me feel safe, Dean.” Dean blushes bright red at that but smiles nonetheless.

“You make me feel safe too, Cas. Hey, uh,” He clears his throat yet again. “If you get confused again, feel free to ask me or Sam anything, okay, we’d…  _ I’d  _ love to help you, okay?”

He feels Cas smile against his shoulder. “Okay.”

“Okay. And, um…” He pauses and tries to conjure the correct words into his head. “Maybe we could… stop at a diner, later on? Go out for… lunch, or something? Just the two of us?” Cas’s mouth quirks up in the corners.

“Like a date?” 

“Something like that, I think.”

“That sounds amazing, Dean.” Dean grins, repressing the urge to pump his fist in the air. 

“O-ok.”

“And Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Dean smiles, arms tightening around the precious angel-turned-man in his arms. 

“Anytime, Cas.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I had the idea to do one of those pretty popular series where you write a oneshot based on one word so here we are.
> 
> Feel free to suggest prompt ideas, either just a word in general or a fic idea, I accept both and quite enjoy writing ideas that I didn’t have to come up with!
> 
> I’ll probably update this series once or twice week/month, so stay tuned if you are curious!
> 
> I’ll probably do a couple of other ships to (like Sabriel, for example) so feel free to send me ideas for that too.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!


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